


new beginnings

by kikudory



Series: before the end drabbles [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25589914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikudory/pseuds/kikudory
Summary: How does one tell a person that they’re a federal criminal, wanted by every guard in the country by this point, and it was also very very cold, so they needed a quick escape, and a horse was convenient?rated t for language.
Series: before the end drabbles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854724





	new beginnings

It was raining hard. The pitter-patter of rain was almost all you could hear. Thunder roared somewhere on the horizon. The streets were empty save for a few laughing children or a stray cat. Rachel ran into a narrow alleyway and pressed against a wall, listening for footsteps. Her ears were ringing, and the rain did not make it any easier. Her hair stuck to her forehead and temples, getting in her eyes.

Rachel couldn’t hear anything for what felt like an eternity but was actually not more than ten minutes. Then, she heard faint shouting and clanking of several swords. The shouting got closer and closer, until it began fading away again. Rachel breathed out and let herself relax a little. A crack of lightning cut through the dense gray clouds, and for a second it was as light as day. Rachel observed what she could see of the street until stepping out of the alleyway. It seemed as the rain would not stop for another several hours. There was no point in seeking shelter anymore – she was fully soaked.

Not bothering to pull her hood on, Rachel started slowly walking. She didn’t know where, because this was a miserable village up north, where barely anyone ever went. The guards were just as stupid as in the Capital, though.

The wind picked up. It howled and crashed into windows and walls of buildings. Rachel gritted her teeth and started walking faster. To her left, a horse neighed in annoyance. Rachel stopped and looked at the animal in amusement. The horse had a beautiful white coat and a short white mane. Its eyes were a rich blue, and it almost looked… bored.

A quiet snort escaped Rachel, and she walked closer to the fence.

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Why are you outside in such weather? Does your owner not care about you?’ Rachel looked behind the horse to find a stable door unlocked and wide open. Ah, that explains it. ‘You’ve got such a pretty coat. It’d be a shame if it got ruined.’ Rachel cooed, admiring said coat that, honestly, looked pretty well taken care of.

The horse stepped closer to the fence, blinking down at the woman. Rachel always liked horses. Considering she had stolen a lot because of her lifestyle, she could find a way to make any horse love her.

A gust of wind almost blew Rachel off her feet. A quick glance at her watch told her it was almost four in the morning. The windows in the house were not lit up. This village’s ninety per cent of population consisted of older folk and the other ten were the damn guards (seriously, why were there so many?). The chances of the owner waking up were close to none. So, after making sure no one was around and taking one well-calculated hop, Rachel was on the other side of the fence. The horse barely flinched and continued to look bored.

Several beats passed, and there was no rustling from inside. Rachel took the saddle off the wall, near the door, and slung it over the back of the horse in one fluid movement.

It didn’t take her longer than ten minutes to fully equip the horse. Luckily, the rain muffled any noise that she made.

Or so she thought. Just as she climbed on top the horse, the front door swung open and a person stepped out. They rubbed their eyes and squinted in the general direction of the horse.

‘Albert? Why are you outside in such weather?!’ they yelped, panicked. Rachel froze on top of the horse.

As the person got closer, they finally saw Rachel and screeched. _That definitely just woke someone up_ , Rachel thought sourly and grimaced. The guards could be a street away, and a screech would alert them.

‘Uh. Hi? Please don’t scream, I can explain, I swear,’ Rachel tried to reason.

‘Get the hell off my horse, what the fuck! Are you trying to steal him, huh? You better not run, dirty thief, I’ll catch you in two seconds flat!’ the person continued to shout. A second later, a window lit up in a house across the street. Rachel got off the horse as quickly as she could and marched inside the house. She almost got it, damn it!

Rachel stood awkwardly near the door, waiting for the person to come back. Finally, after some time, they came back inside, visibly seething.

‘What the fuck?’ they asked as they lit up a candle, and suddenly the room was basked in warm light.

The person appeared to be a young woman around her age, maybe a year or two older than Rachel. The young woman had long curly red hair and bright green eyes. Her skin was on the paler side. She was average height and pretty damn pissed. To be fair, it was for good reason, but it kinda stung anyway. Rachel rarely gets caught in the act.

‘Were you trying to steal my horse? Scratch that, you definitely were. Why?’ the woman asked, sitting down. Rachel continued to stand awkwardly near the door.

‘I… Well,’ how does one tell a person that they’re a federal criminal, wanted by every guard in the country by this point, and it was also very very cold, so they needed a quick escape, and a horse was convenient? ‘Hm. This is awkward.’

‘No shit! You’re either telling me or I’m going to the police station.’ Ah, yes, that.

‘Please don’t. Okay, so maybe I was kinda trying to steal your horse, but can we like… talk it out?’ Rachel hasn’t been on the run for that long, barely more than a year. She still struggles to get out of icky situations like these unscathed. This is the first young person she’s seen in this village and maybe luck would be on her side.

‘And you think I’ll let you off.’

‘..Yeah?’

Silence fell over the room. The woman looked appalled, and Rachel begged every godlike-or-whatever entity to help her.

‘Oh my god. You know what? I’m too tired for your shit, just… Go,’ she waved her hand and sighed.

‘Ah, about that,’ Rachel couldn’t finish, as another roar of thunder cut through the air.

The woman looked up. Now, Rachel could clearly see the bags under her eyes.

‘I’m not letting a thief sleep in my house.’

‘I’m not going to sleep, I’ll just wait out the storm!’

‘Who is going to watch you?’

‘You could! Come on, you can’t just let a person out there!’

The woman still looked pissed, but at least she was considering.

‘Fine. What’s the time?’

‘Four in the morning,’ Rachel replied shyly, suddenly cowering under the woman’s deathly glare.

‘You’re so lucky it’s a Saturday, fuck,’ she groaned and stood up. ‘Well? Take a seat. We’ll be here for a long time.’

Rachel scrambled to sit down. She had killed people before already, but the woman was downright terrifying.

‘Tea or coffee?’ came a sudden question. Rachel whipped around her head so fast she was afraid her neck would snap.

‘What?’ she asked dumbly.

‘What do you mean ‘what’, it’s a simple enough question. Tea or coffee?’

‘Ah. Tea, thanks.’

The woman nodded and turned around, heading for the small kitchen area to the left of the room. Rachel observed her for a minute, until the woman felt her gaze and looked at her. Rachel turned her gaze to the suddenly very interesting surface of the table. You should look at all the cracks; it’s really fascinating, honestly.

What felt like several hours later, the woman sat back at the table and placed two mugs filled with steaming liquid between them. Not waiting for Rachel, she blew on her tea and took a sip.

‘So,’ she began. ‘How come you’re here? There’s not many young people here. I’m almost the only one.’

The redhead looked at her scrutinizingly. Rachel squirmed under her gaze and took a drink of her tea so she doesn’t say something stupid.

‘Oh. The tea is good. Is this a mix of raspberry and mint? Very nice, I like the complimentary hints of orange, too,’ Rachel blurted out.

‘Thanks, but I asked you a question,’ said the woman, unimpressed.

‘I’m on an adventure of sorts. Have been for a year now. I can’t really tell you, you’ll probably die,’ Rachel answered, looking away and sighing.

‘So first you try to steal my horse, and now you care about my wellbeing? What is wrong with you?’

Well, she was certainly straightforward. And blunt. That actually hurt a little. _Fair, I guess_ , Rachel thought.

‘Listen, I’m not a monster, I’ve just been in this situation, mostly against my will,’ she tried to explain herself.

‘Uh-huh. Mostly?’

‘I had no other choice than to run away, but I could probably run away with my friends. I didn’t, because I care about their safety, and this is anything but safe.’

The woman smiled for the first time since they’ve seen each other for the first time. Wow, she can do that? Maybe she is actually nice, just cautious. She did let a thief into her house, though. Rachel’s head was starting to hurt, trying to figure out the person in front of her.

‘You have friends?’ she wondered, still smiling.

‘Why do you sound surprised?! At least I didn’t live in some kind of hole!’ Rachel shot back jokingly.

At that, the woman’s smile disappeared. She looked down and pressed her lips into a thin line. Rachel had struck a nerve. The woman’s grip on the mug tightened, and her gaze was back to cold and closed off. Rachel could still see hurt in her eyes as clear as day.

‘It’s not like I want this, you know. Not all of us can just run away from their life. Some of us have responsibilities,’ she said, quiet yet angry.

‘Shit, um, sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just didn’t expect to meet someone my age in here,’ Rachel said, words dripping with guilt.

‘It’s fine, I understand,’ but the damage had been done.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Both of them were looking anywhere but at each other. It was so painfully awkward, Rachel would rather go outside in the storm that face this any longer.

‘Right. I still don’t know your name,’ she said, breaking the silence.

‘I’m Anna.’

‘I’m Rachel! Nice to meet you,’ she smiled and put her hand out for Anna to shake. Anna hesitantly accepted the handshake, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

‘It’s so weird, finally talking to someone new and young after all this time. All the youngsters moved out of here as soon as possible. I…’ she faltered.

‘Hey, it’s okay. Everyone’s situation is different. I don’t know why you didn’t move out yet, but I’m sure you will some day.’

‘It’s more complicated than that. I don’t… I don’t want to leave all this behind, you know. I grew up here,’ Anna said shyly. ‘I don’t know what will happen once I’m gone.’ I’m scared.

Rachel’s breath hitched. She remembered her house, her friends, her family. Her favorite teacher and her favorite table in the café near her university. All of it, which she left behind mercilessly.

‘I was the same.’

‘What?’ Anna looked up, surprise all over her face.

‘I had an amazing life before all this. Family, friends, a part-time job and a place in a good university. I gave it all up.’ Rachel looked Anna in the eyes. ‘It was unbelievably hard, sometimes I still want to go back. There were so many things holding me back. Now, even though I’m in constant danger, I’m more free than ever,’ she continued, forcing the painful memories away.

‘Oh. I’m… sorry,’ Anna whispered, barely audible.

‘I’m mostly fine now. What I’m saying is don’t let your current state hold you down. If you want to do something, face your fears and jump straight in. It’s always better than not doing it and regretting every day for the rest of your life.’

Anna looked around her house. She looked outside through the window, at the raging weather and the familiar landscape. She thought about how all her friends are old people, about the freedom, about Rachel.

‘I guess… I guess you’re right,’ she finally said. Her voice was a little wet, but Rachel didn’t point it out.

‘Duh, I’m always right,’ she said instead, which earned her an amused eye roll and a small laugh.

The tea mugs stood on the table, forgotten. Anna and Rachel slowly began finding more about each other. They bonded over the same sense of humor and values. Laugh filled the room, and soon enough, the storm was over.

They both noticed it during a moment of silence. Rachel perked up. No matter how nice Anna’s company was, she needed to go. The sky was beginning to get lighter already.

‘I should go. It was nice meeting you,’ Rachel quickly steeled herself. This wasn’t her first goodbye, but it still hurt.

‘Hey. You know how you said I should just jump straight in?’

‘Yeah, what about it? You got something already?’ Rachel wondered.

‘I know it’s borderline rude, but I feel like we’d make a badass team. Can I go with you?’

_What_ , Rachel thought.

‘ _What?_ ’ she said.

Anna was looking at her with unmasked hope. It was a little bit too much, and Rachel paled.

‘Did you not hear the part about constant danger?’

‘I can handle a sword.’

‘I’m a literal criminal. I tried to steal your horse not five hours ago.’

That slowed Anna down, but only for a second. Then, she was back to looking hopeful. Rachel felt like she had to refuse a stubborn child.

‘Come on, don’t you need help?’

Rachel never really thought about it. She was doing fine on her own, and to trust another person was too risky for her. But Anna lived God knows where, she barely had friends, she could (apparently) fight well and she was one of the most charismatic people Rachel had ever met.

They could always separate.

‘I can’t believe I am doing this, but okay, sure. Now we need two horses instead of one,’ Rachel sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could already feel a headache coming on.

‘There are a lot of wild horses in the forest down south. We can walk there with Albert. I have spare gear we can take, although it’s a bit old.’

Rachel thought about it for a second. South is where she was heading anyway.

‘Sounds like a plan. I’ll wait for you outside,’ she nodded and stepped out.

The sun shone its first rays over the horizon. Birds were chirping not far away, and the crisp morning air helped Rachel clear her head and focus.

It looked like the beginning of something new.


End file.
